Fantastic Four

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections

Although I tend to avoid discovering too much about how a film is faring critically before I see it, with Fantastic Four, I was picking up a sour smell on the wind long before I entered the multiplex. One critic I overheard on the radio referred to it as “a vile disease.� Another critic (Maurice Broaddus, who had seen an advance screening) sent me an e-mail saying, “Lower your expectations.� These initial responses caused me to seriously question whether I should even bother seeing the film. But I was really looking forward to watching a movie that night, and I had already made plans with friends, so off I went.

I think it was about thirty minutes into the screening when I turned to my friend and said, “You know, this really isn’t all that bad.� Don’t take my comment the wrong way: Fantastic Four wasn’t all that good, either, but it certainly wasn’t a vile disease. Perhaps Maurice’s warning had the desired effect: I walked into the theater with my expectations around my ankles, but I could probably have worn them at least knee-high.

As the film progressed, however, I realized my expectations weren’t just riding low; I may have actually put on the wrong pair. Still smoldering in the afterglow of a genre-defining film like Batman Begins, I, like most critics, had expected Fantastic Four to follow in the Caped Crusader’s footsteps by offering us a gritty, sophisticated story that was more concerned with exploring deep, philosophical issues than portraying fisticuffs and budget-busting CGI shots. In short, I expected a comic book film for adults. Fantastic Four didn’t seem to be going in that direction at all though. Where Batman Begins was gritty, Fantastic Four was goofy. Unlike Bruce Wayne, Dr. Reed Richards and co. weren’t at all interested in pondering deep, philosophical issues. They didn’t even seem too concerned with fighting evil, for that matter. They spent most of their time fighting each other. And the filmmakers never once shied away from throwing in a cool CGI effect, just for the fun of it. It took a while, but I finally came to see that Fantastic Four wasn’t a comic book film for adults after all. It was a comic book film for kids. (Imagine that!) Once I was able to make this paradigm shift, suddenly, the movie didn’t seem all that bad.

Before any Fantastic Four purists jump all over me, let me say this: I feel your pain. I’ve never really been into the Fantastic Four, but if Batman had received the same sort of cinematic treatment as Ben Grimm and the gang, I would have been hopping mad. This film isn’t exactly a mockery of Marvel Comics’ flagship title, but it’s only one or two notches above camp. The acting is way over the top, the characters are painted with bold, bright colors, the script is overly didactic, and the entire production is about as subtle as Al Qaeda when making a point. (I'm thinking in particular about the wedding ring on the bridge scene here.) But what else would you expect from a movie for kids? Sure, I was hoping as much as anyone else that Fantastic Four would deliver two more hours of sophisticated fanboy bliss. But post-pubescent males with too much time and money on their hands aren’t the only target market in the world (although we are a very lucrative market, Mr. Winter). Kids need their share of summer viewing fun, too. And, as one of my companions said, “If I think about this movie from my six-year-old son’s point of view, he would absolutely love it.� I’m sorry, die-hard fans, but this movie just wasn’t made for you.

So, even though Fantastic Four was not what any of us expected, I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as most critics are making it out to be either. Sure, it doesn’t hold a candle to Batman Begins or the Spiderman films in terms of cultural significance or artistic merit, but, all Pixar films excluded, neither do most films aimed primarily at children. For me, the acerbic critical response to this film is a good reminder that a work of art—even blatantly commercial pieces like this film—should always be judged according to the creator’s original intentions, not our own thoughts about what the work should or could be. Unfortunately, that means I should probably stop complaining about Tim Burton’s take on Batman. Heck, it's only taken me sixteen years to learn that lesson...

In terms of spiritual significance, one of the main things I got from this film is how power reveals character. The relationship between power and character is a recurring theme throughout the work of Marvel pioneer Stan Lee (who had a hand in creating not only the Fantastic Four but also Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, and Daredevil, among others). As with most of Lee’s characters, when the people in Fantastic Four receive their special powers, personality traits that were already bubbling just beneath the surface suddenly become magnified, either for good or ill. Johnny Storm, for instance, was always hungry for attention. As the Human Torch, now he can gain the attention of the entire world. But will he find a more socially responsible use for his powers? Victor Von Doom, by way of contrast, has always harbored a murderous intent toward Reed Richards or anyone else who stood in his way. Once he is transformed by the cosmic storm, he can finally act on his murderous thoughts without consequence, and act he does. The question is, can he be stopped?

This isn’t much different from what happens to us when we gain some kind of new power, whether money, position or ability. When our capacity to fulfill our inner longings increases exponentially, we are forced to confront some tough questions, such as: Were we living according to the values we espoused simply because we couldn’t afford to act on our true desires, or do we really believe what we say we believe? Now that we have the power to do anything—or much more than we could before—what will we do? Who will we become? Will we use our power to help others? Or will we keep it to ourselves? Exactly what are our deepest desires anyway? As this movie illustrates, how we answer such questions will determine if our lives lead to something truly fantastic or if we wind up walking the road to doom. It also shows that we probably shouldn't wait until those "super" powers come along before we start asking them. Otherwise, we probably won't be too happy with the character our new powers reveal.

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections